Like He Never Left

chapter 10

"I like watching you struggle with it though," I answer. I turn around in her arms and encircle my own around her waist. She rolls her eyes and flicks my nose. "Ow!"

"Don't be a jerk," she declares with a huff, though her eyes tell me that she's joking. She tosses her head to the right. "Let's go get you unpacked."

"Yes, ma'am."

She takes my hand and tugs me along with her to the bedroom, grabbing my suitcase on the way. 

How can she act so carefree when everything that I know is being questioned? 

I feel the heavy weight of the engagement ring in my pocket as well as my breakfast coming back up to make a guest appearance. 

Oh boy. 

Unzipping the suitcase, she begins to take out the clothes that I so messily threw in there.

"Were you in a hurry to leave or something?" she asks lightly.

"Something like that," I answer dismissively, and if she notices, she doesn't comment on it. I turn around and head to my closet, discreetly taking out the ring and tucking it into one of my work pants' pockets. 

"Holy... .what is that?"

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear her gasp, thinking she's seen the burgundy velvet box in my hands. I spin around, standing in front of the pair of pants that I put the ring in and look at what she's talking about. 

Oh. My trophy.

Hallelujah. 

"Wow, football champions huh?" She turns to me and gestures to the trophy with her free hand. 

"Yep. We were a force to be reckoned with," I say distractedly.

Flashbacks of that game wash over me, and memories of Josie's and my pre-game ritual, the heat of the game, the halftime pep talk from Coach O'Donnell, and finally scoring that winning touchdown in overtime drown me. 

What am I doing?

"Yeah, the Oak Bend Rangers. What were your colors?"

I blink and shake my head, thrown off by the simple question.

"Our colors?"

"Yeah, you know." She gives me a one-shouldered shrug. "Mine were neon green and white for the Northview Demons." She makes a disgusted face at the mention of them

"Navy and silver."

"Better than green and white. It was the ugliest green you've ever seen."

I chuckle and flex my fingers. 

"I can only imagine."

"Yeah. . ." She drifts off and continues to unpack my things for me. 

I reach over and grab my hamper and place it by the bed. Sitting down next to her, I go through dirty and clean clothes.

"Is that your lettermen's jacket?" she giggles. She unfolds it and holds it up by the shoulders, biting her lip to hold back more laughter. "Wow, you got one for academics too? Smartypants," she teases. 

In the process of returning the rental car, I had managed to stuff my pictures, trophy, and lettermen's jacket all in the suitcase so that I had less to keep track of. 

And then we stumble upon the pictures. 

First, it's the ones that I had taken from my dad's place of my mom. 

"Is that. . ." Brooke trails softly.

My breath hitches as I see who she's pointing to. "Yeah."

It's a picture of my mother towards the end of her life when the cancer was getting worse. We were at the beach, and she was just soaking up the sun with the widest smile on her lips.